Co-chairmen of the Korean World Cup Committee pose with the mascots of the 2002 World Cup Korea-Japan after an announcement of the mascots' names: Nik, Ato and Kaz.
My point here is that, unlike the good ol' US, most countries do not have a decades-long tradition of entertainment, so they can't possibly come out with a good mascot.
These mascots wouldn't be fit to wobble around the fields of any American sport. They're at least 30 years behind American mascot technology. Look at the dumb protruding stomaches on Nik and Kaz. Proper mascots have protruding middles that hardly let them walk - that's why it's comical. And Ato can't have a stomach because he has to carry the dumb ball. If he has to carry the ball, he certainly can't make outrageous comical gestures!
These clearly inferior mascots demean the entire World Cup. If they're going to go this direction, at least they could make a comical mascot oversized Pele or something. Or a Maradona with a big oversized head. And have the Americans develop it. And have the French develop the concessions, the Germans develop the security, the Italians do the design work... each country to its strengths.
05-15-2001, 11:00 AM
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